Zeeko to Make Telescope Tool

Photonics.comDec 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Dec. 17, 2007 -- Zeeko Ltd. was awarded a $5 million contract to develop a component to be used on the world's largest telescope. The component, a polishing machine, will be used to finish the mirrors for the European Southern Observatory's Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) project. The observatory is a proposed member to operate a new generation of astronomical telescopes, envisioned to dwarf the world's largest telescopes.

Zeeko, a North American spinoff of UK-based Zeeko Ltd., has headquarters at Purdue Research Park, a business incubator complex affiliated with Purdue University. Zeeko develops technologies for controlling the form and texture of freeform engineering surfaces.

Zeeko Ltd., along with partners Brashear, OpTIC Technium, TNO and Qioptiq, was awarded the contract to produce seven prototype mirror segments. The undertaking will require the design and construction of a new type of polishing machine capable of processing the large mirrors.

The new-generation telescope will collect light from distant galaxies using a mirror comprised of 906 hexagonal segments, each 1.4 m (4.6 ft) across. The entire mirror will span 42 m (137 ft), greater than the wingspan of a Boeing 707 aircraft.

"This massive telescope will allow the study of planets around other stars and super-massive black holes," said John Kelchner, director of research for Zeeko. "It also can provide important clues to the history of the universe's beginning with the very first galaxies and stars. This project will require a revolution in optical fabrication in order to produce mirrors in both the quality and quantity needed."

The Zeeko polishing machine uses a small robotic tool under computer control. This tool can remove material from a surface according to a very precise prescription, he said.

The use of a random tool path is one aspect of the project that Zeeko is developing. Computer-controlled polishing tools usually move across the surface in a raster or spiral motion, creating a periodic surface texture that can cause light to be scattered off the mirrors in one direction. The random tool path will polish the mirror surface without leaving periodic polishing artifacts. The technique was developed at Zeeko Technologies, and a patent is pending from Zeeko.

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